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GIRDWOOD |
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Outdoorsy GIRDWOOD , 37 miles south of Anchorage, lies two miles
inland in the shade of the Alyeska Resort ( ; $45), Alaska's largest
winter sports complex and the lowest-elevation ski resort in the world -
Mount Alyeska's 3939ft summit rises from just 270 feet above sea level.
Downhill runs and an extensive night-skiing operation run from November
to mid-April, and in summer you can ride the Alyeska Tramway ($16) up to
stunning views and some good hiking territory. Girdwood Ski and Cyclery,
Mile 1.5 Alyeska Highway (tel 907/783-2453; closed Mon & Tues), rent
mountain bikes ($25 a day) to explore the surrounding trails, and Class
V Whitewater (tel 907/783-2004, ) run a range of rafting trips from
gentle scenic float trips on the Portage River (3hr; $50) to serious
Class III-V whitewater on the Six-Mile River ($65-130).
The resort's Alyeska Prince Hotel (tel 907/754-1111 or 1-800/880-3880;
$160-200) is a grand ski lodge with half a dozen good restaurants and
service to match. Alternatively, try the Austrian-run Alyeska View B&B ,
Vail Drive (tel 907/783-2747, ; $100-130), or Alyeska Home Hostel (tel
907/783-2099; up to $35), with $10 loft beds. There's inexpensive food
at Chair Five in Girdwood (tel 907/783-2500; daily 11am-2am) or the
unmissable Double Musky Inn on Crow Creek Road (tel 907/783-2822):
budget on $25 a head and a meal to remember.
Eleven miles south of Girdwood, a road leads to Whittier, past Portage
Glacier , an unbearably popular day-tour from Anchorage. Frustratingly,
you can't see the glacier from the parking lot; instead you must pay
Gray Line $25 for a cruise around the lake's corner to the glacier's
snout. Two USFS campgrounds ($10) can be found two or three miles back
down the road.
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